Thread by @chrisgeidner

On a 5-3 vote, the Supreme Court — unlike in other cases — jumped in to reverse a lower court’s procedural decision, this time in a case that means a man almost certainly will be killed by the state of Oklahoma tonight.

https://twitter.com/scotusblog/status/1453807226351767560

Oklahoma has killed John Grant.

https://twitter.com/KassieMcClung/status/1453834858707488770

In its first execution in 7 years, since the botched execution of Clayton Lockett, it appears questions must be asked about this Oklahoma execution as well.

The execution of Clayton Lockett led to a state review that showed what a complete disaster the state’s execution process was. buzzfeednews.com/article/chrisg…

Seven years later. Here we go again.

More on today’s Oklahoma execution from my former co-worker on the death penalty beat, @csmcdaniel:

https://twitter.com/csmcdaniel/status/1453845226301403149

Here is video of @apseanmurphy describing the execution of John Grant that he witnessed today in Oklahoma.

https://twitter.com/KassieMcClung/status/1453840300561117186

One correction from earlier in the thread. I forgot that Oklahoma actually did go through with one execution after the Lockett execution, that of Charles Warner in Jan. 2015, which they also screwed up. npr.org/sections/thetw…

So, today’s execution of John Grant was the first by Oklahoma in nearly seven years, and the second since the botched Lockett execution.

This is what the US Supreme Court allowed to happen today. What happened during Oklahoma’s execution of John Grant was precisely why the 10th Circuit had put the execution on hold. The US Supreme Court, with no opinion, allowed this pain to be inflicted upon Grant.

https://twitter.com/KassieMcClung/status/1453840300561117186

Here is yesterday’s opinion from the 10th Circuit — documents.deathpenaltyinfo.org/Jones-v-Crow-1… — and here, in part, is why the lower court issued a stay:

When Sam Alito whines about critical media coverage of the Supreme Court’s shadow docket being unfair, play him this video.

https://twitter.com/kassiemcclung/status/1453840300561117186

An unresolved issue in the case was “the adequacy of the consciousness check,” which was then used today — minutes after Grant was still vomiting — to then justify the state injecting him with the second drug that killed him. Again, from the 10th Circuit opinion: